by Kim Fox
Joan’s eyes dropped to the sticky table. She was exactly the kind of shifter that she was talking about. More trouble than they were worth.
Rhett nodded proudly at the waitress. “We’re working hard to keep everything in order,” he said with a nod. “You look beautiful by the way. Pregnancy really suits you.”
She looked down at her big belly that was barely contained in her tight black top. “Thanks,” she said with a smile. “Now I know why bear shifters like girls with curvy thighs. Their babies are huge. I’m only five months pregnant and I look like I’m carrying triplets.”
“You look great,” Joan added, smiling at the waitress. She took their orders, two draft beers, and waddle away.
“She’s married to a bear shifter named Hannibal Vega,” Rhett explained. “Really smart guy. I’m sure you’ll meet him eventually.”
Joan took in a deep breath as she took a coaster in her hand and started picking at the edges. “Does that mean I’m welcome to stay in your town, Officer Jones?”
Rhett’s dark eyes settled on her and the sexy look that he gave her made her chest flutter. “As long as I’m in Colwood,” he said, reaching out and placing his strong hand on hers, “you’ll be welcome here. And you’ll have a place to stay.”
She slowly pulled her hand away and dropped her eyes back down to the table. “Thank you,” she whispered. Her nerve endings were tingling at his words. Joan had never been welcome in a place for very long, so it was nice to hear.
The waitress returned with their beers and Joan stole a quick glance at Rhett as he thanked her. He was a good guy. She could tell. He was the type of guy who she should be with. The type of guy that she needed.
Joan had always been attracted to the bad boy type, but it had gotten her nothing but frustration and broken hearts. It was time to put all of that behind her and pick a sweet guy for a change. It was time to grow up.
“So what made you want to be a shifter cop?” she asked, taking a sip of her cold beer. It was in a frosted mug like she loved. Joan could tell that she would be a regular at the bar. It was called the Call of the Wild Bar, the name suited her perfectly.
“The money,” Rhett said with a laugh. “But more than that. I was in a position of power in my youth and it didn’t go too well.”
“It rarely does,” Joan said, taking another sip. Her vicious bear had taught her all about the corrupting force that power could yield.
He told her a little bit about his past. Rhett was one of the higher ups in a skin shifter community called Creston Falls. The leader, his cousin and a skin shifter named Jacob, had led the community with an iron fist and Rhett had been one of his knuckles, until he realized that he had to put a stop to it all. He conspired with Jacob’s brother Tyler, and the two of them, along with Nathan and Emry, put a stop to Jacob’s tyrannical rule.
Even though Rhett had been instrumental in stopping Jacob, the community still exiled him for his past transgressions. That’s what brought him to Colwood, Montana. He was just another shifter with a tainted past, trying to make things right.
Joan inched a little closer to him when he finished the story. It was clear that he had felt horrible for his role during the rough years, and was trying to turn his life around and have a positive role in the community for once.
Joan had to admit that he was doing good so far. He calmed her bear and that was something that she didn’t think was possible. He was definitely having a positive impact in her life.
But it wasn’t just her bear that he was affecting. It was her. She liked him. He was sweet and fun to be around, and there was definitely potential there.
“I changed my mind,” she said after he finished his heart warming story.
“What?” he said, looking at her with worried eyes.
“I’m paying for the drinks.” She signaled to Mikki for two more and the waitress nodded.
“We might have to take them to go,” Rhett said, seizing up as he looked at the front door.
Joan cringed as she turned around. She could already smell who it was.
The Wilde Crew walked in, the wolf shifter Rory walked in first, bobbing his head to the music. The grizzly bears, Cole and Ashton were next, arguing about something.
She waited, swallowing hard with anticipation until Gunner walked in a second later. His blonde hair was tied up in a bun on his head and he was looking gorgeous in fitted jeans and a tight white shirt that clung to the curves of his hard muscles.
His eyes, the color of sweet honey, locked onto her and didn’t let go. She tore her gaze away from him with her heart racing.
“Maybe that’s a good idea,” she said, smiling awkwardly at Rhett.
But it was too late. Mikki dropped the fresh cold mugs on the table as Rory bounced over, smiling from ear to ear.
“Hi, Joan!” he said in his bubbly voice. “I can’t believe you’re here. This is like fate!”
“Or, it’s because it’s nighttime and this is the only bar in town,” she said as the three other shifters walked over. She smiled at Cole and Ashton but kept her eyes off of Gunner.
Her instincts were sharp as a samurai’s sword and she knew that cat would be nothing but trouble. She kept her eyes off of him and on Rhett, where they belonged.
Rory slipped into the empty chair, sitting down uninvited. Rhett shot him a look of annoyance that went right over the wolf shifter’s excited head. “Did you think about our offer?” he asked, tapping his fingers on the table as he stared at her.
“It wasn’t much of an offer,” she replied. “It seemed like only one of you was on board.”
Cole crossed his arms over his massive chest. “I’m on board too. Our animals were calm for the first time in ages after you left. We need a strong alpha to keep us in line and as much as I hate to say it, I think you’re the one for the job.”
“Geez,” she said with a smirk. “Thanks.”
“He’s right,” Ashton said, shaking his head in disbelief. “As much as I love fighting, it’s no way to run a crew. We could do a lot worse than having the most powerful grizzly that I’ve ever seen in our corner.”
Rory was bouncing his head up and down like an overexcited Jack Russel Terrier.
“Is that how everyone feels?” Joan asked, pausing for a second before looking up at Gunner.
He stared down at her with a heated gaze. She could hear his lion purring inside of him and the sensual sound sent a feeling of warmth flooding through her body.
Gunner turned away abruptly. “I’ll get a table,” he growled in a deep voice. He turned away and walked to the other side of the bar with his shoulders tight and his hot ass looking even tighter.
Stop. Look away.
“So, you’ll do it?” Rory asked, his soft gray eyes full of hope. “You’ll come live with us and be our alpha?”
Joan swallowed hard as she thought about it for a second. “Would you mind?” she asked, taking a sip of her beer. “I’m on a date right now.”
Rory turned to Rhett and grinned. He nodded in admiration and Joan had to stifle her laugh when she saw Rhett smiling with pride.
“Of course,” Rory said, bouncing out of the chair. “Just let us know. You know where we live.”
“I do,” she said with a smirk. “In that shitty trailer park where all of the out of control animals are constantly fighting.”
Cole laughed. “That’s the one alright!”
“Have fun on your date,” Ashton said with a smile. He grinned at Rhett. “Make sure to have our girl home by nine pm.”
Our girl. She hadn’t said yes and they were already referring to her as their girl.
She resisted looking over at Gunner as the three boys left, leaving them alone once again.
Rhett was smiling wide as he looked into his beer.
“What are you grinning about?” Joan asked with a smirk. But she knew.
“A date?” he said, his cheeks turning an adorable red. “If I knew, I would have dressed up.”
Joan
took the opportunity to glance over his muscular body. He was wearing a black long sleeved button up shirt that hugged his biceps and made his round shoulders look very tempting.
“No complaints from me,” she said with a grin. “Except maybe undo one more button on your shirt.”
He shook his head. “I don’t put out on the first date. If you play your cards right, maybe I’ll undo it on the second date.”
A second date? Joan hoped that there would be one. She wasn’t one who usually ‘played her cards right,’ like he had said. She was usually the one to flip over the table in the middle of the game.
They laughed and smiled a lot as they chatted and by the middle of their fourth beer she had was dying to go pee.
“Hold that thought,” she said, placing her hand on his thick forearm. “I have to piss like a racehorse.”
He laughed, watching her as she got up. “I’ll save your seat.”
“Good.” She was having a lot of fun, and in terms of first dates went, this was probably her best ever. She hurried to the bathroom and moaned as she relieved herself in a stall.
“Don’t fuck it up,” she said to her reflection in the mirror as she fixed her brown hair. “He’s a good guy. And you desperately need a good guy in your life.”
Just a few hours with Rhett and she could already tell that he was a keeper. If only she could get him to think the same thing about her.
She puckered her lips and stepped out of the bathroom. A hand grabbed her wrist hard and pulled her into the corner where she was hidden from the people in the bar.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, yanking her hand out of Gunner’s grasp. “Did I not embarrass you and your lion enough today? Want some more?”
He crossed his arms over his hard chest and looked down at her with those intense honey eyes that always got her blood pumping.
“I changed my mind,” he said, adding nothing else.
Joan exhaled hard, glaring into his eyes. He has really nice eyes…for an asshole.
He licked his lips and took a deep breath when she didn’t reply. “I want you to come live with us.”
She lifted her chin, never taking her eyes off of his. “As alpha?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Her heart was hammering in her chest. She could literally feel it pounding in her ears. Why did his frustrating type always make her body react like that?
“I’d only be interested if it’s as alpha.”
Gunner took a deep breath and then his hard eyes softened. “I just want to live near you, so yes. I’d like you to come live with us as our alpha.”
Joan swallowed hard as she pulled her eyes away from him. She just couldn’t handle the way he was looking at her. She wanted to be with Rhett, no matter what the butterflies in her stomach were telling her.
She bit her bottom lip as his inviting words replayed in her head. I just want to live near you.
“I didn’t need your permission,” she said in a harsh voice as her body tensed up. “My bear is strong enough. I could have taken the alpha position if I wanted to.” She lifted her eyes back up to his and the tension in her body disappeared despite herself. “But still,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
Gunner nodded. “So, are you going to stay with us then?”
She stepped back and looked over to their table where Rhett was sitting. Hunk number one or hunk number two? Hmmmm.
“I’ll think about it,” she said, turning back to Gunner.
She gulped as he stepped in close, his tall muscular body leaning over her and making her eyes widen as her heart skipped a beat.
He was utterly gorgeous and the cocky aggressive edge that he had to him cut straight to her core, seizing her unexpectedly.
Gunner leaned in close and lowered his tempting lips a heartbeat away from her ear. “I hope you do,” he whispered in a deep, raspy voice.
He walked away leaving Joan lightheaded and breathless. Has it always been this hot in here?
She turned to walk back to her date and froze when she saw Rhett staring right at her. The hurt on his face was clear.
He had seen everything.
seven
Well, that was fast. You already fucked it up.
Joan gave Rhett a little awkward wave from outside of the bathroom and he just turned away, looking down at the beer mug in his hands. He was hurt. She could see it in his eyes.
Shit.
She walked over with a tightness in her stomach. “Hi,” she said as she sat back down. “He was just thanking me for breaking up the fight this morning.”
Rhett nodded, taking a sip of beer but not saying anything.
Shit. She felt bad. Joan really liked him and he didn’t deserve to be treated like this on a date, especially one that was going so well until he came.
Gunner was tempting but she wasn’t about to fall for his type again. He was the hot bad boy who you fall in love with when you’re young and stupid. He’s the type who makes you really appreciate the sweet man who you end up marrying.
You marry the sweet one.
Joan had to remember. Rhett was the sweet one.
He was the one to end up with.
Her thing for bad boys had to come to an end. It was time to stop.
She had been addicted to all the wrong things for so long and look where it had brought her. She could have a new start with a nice guy like Rhett. He could help control her bear, she could have a future with a family one day, and stop this horrible life of constantly running from town to town.
It was time to give up her old ways and start heading towards security and safety. Rhett could provide that for her.
I’m over the bad boys. She forced herself to say it.
I’m over the bad boys. Famous last words.
She glanced over at Gunner as Rhett took a sip of his beer. Of course, the lion shifter’s eyes were on her, watching her, wanting her.
If Gunner was a book, he’d be the one that you’d throw at the wall, screaming in frustration. Then you’d storm out of the room with your heart pounding only to return a few hours later to sit on the floor and leaf through the rest of its pages.
Rhett was the type of book that you would curl up on the couch with, wrapped in your favorite blanket in front of the fire and read, smiling all the way through.
It sounded nice and it was exactly what Joan needed right now, but there was still nothing like a book that could get your heart pumping.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said, taking his hand in hers and giving it a squeeze. They were having so much fun before Gunner had interrupted them and ruined the whole vibe. She needed to get this date back on track. She needed to get away from Gunner’s watching eyes.
“Alright,” he said, pulling out his wallet.
“No,” she said, pushing his hand back down. “It’s on me, remember?”
“Do you have enough money on you?” he asked with a grin.
“Maybe,” she said with a smirk. “But if I shout out go, you jump out of the window. Fast.”
“Alright,” he said, finishing the rest of his beer with a smile on his lips.
Joan paid Mikki for the beers at the bar and congratulated her again on her pregnancy. Rhett followed her as she walked out of the bar. She kept her eyes on the floor as she passed the Wilde Crew’s table, but she could feel Gunner’s eyes boring into her.
It appeared that Rhett could feel it too.
“Look,” he said when they got outside. “If there’s something between you and Gunner-”
Joan spun around, stepped on her toes and kissed him. Hard.
His tight body relaxed as he wrapped his muscular arms around her, melting into the kiss. Who the hell needed a bad boy when the good guy kissed like this?
Joan finally pulled away, swallowing hard as she licked his taste off of her lips.
She could hear his heart pounding in his chest, just like hers was.
“I was going to say,” he said, still holding her body.
“That you should definitely pick me.”
“Done,” she said, reaching up to kiss him again.
After a few minutes of making out on the side of the bar, she took his hand and pulled him away. It was a gorgeous night with a slight chill in the air that raised the goosebumps on her skin. Or maybe that was the sexy skin shifter by her side.
“What do you want to do now?” she asked, looking up at the billions of stars in the sky. This tiny town in Montana may not have had a lot of restaurants or shops or places to go, but it definitely had an abundance of stars.
And ravens. It was weird having an army of black birds following them around, but it was something that she could get used to.
“Everything is closed,” he said, looking around the dark empty street. “We can go for a walk, or a drive, or kiss again.”
Joan licked her lips as she stopped walking and stepped into his embrace. “I like the last idea,” she said with a grin.
Rhett smiled as he leaned in. “I was hoping you were going to say that.”
eight
Rhett hurried downstairs and cursed when he opened the new bag of coffee and it exploded onto the kitchen floor.
He had been up all night thinking of Joan and had only fallen asleep as the sun was coming up. He was in a deep sleep when his alarm clock rang, two hours ago.
Rhett was already going to get in shit from his new boss, Kylee for the trashed police car, he didn’t need to add being late on his second day of work into the mix.
Nathan and Emry both walked down, still in their pajamas.
“What are you still doing here?” Emry asked, looking at the clock on the microwave. The microwave didn’t work but they kept it around for the clock. “You’re going to be late for work.”
“I am late for work,” he said, tossing the whole bag of coffee into the sink. He’d deal with it later. There wasn’t time for coffee, he’d just have to get some at the Sheriff’s station. “And you guys started an hour ago too. You’re both already late.”
“Shit!” Emry said, turning to Nathan. “We are late! The movie starts in half an hour!”